Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio

In our divorce, the Judge stated that our bills were our own. I was awarded the property and the mobil home in the divorce. When I went to sell them, it appears there was a lien on the property. It was from the hospital that my then husband had had surgery. I have tryed numerious times to get the money from my ex-husband. He has been found In Contempt of Court. I now need to file a "Motion to Impose". My question is; if I file this what are the chances of my ex paying me the monies owed to me. He lives in CA, an I live in OH. The Contempt Order states that "...if he doesn't comply with the orders of the Court he will have to serve thirty (30) days in Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail." If he gets stopped in CA for any reason they will infact see that there is an active warrant for him in Ohio. With that being said, what are the chances of him being brought back to Ohio, and me getting my money back? Also, I have been doing all of this on my own, do you think it would be a wise thing to have an attorney handle it from here on out? Or will it just be a waste of money? Because even though it is getting to be a pain, I have been able to file everything on my own.

Thank you so vey much with your help in this matter,

Stephanie McAfee


Asked on 12/19/12, 10:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Eric Willison Eric Eastman Willison

In Ohio, if a party disobeys a divorce court order, then the other party can file a Motion for Contempt and if the party is found to be in contempt, then the judge will usually sentence them to some period of time in jail to occur in the near future, with the condition that if the party complies with the order before the report time, then the jail time can be avoided.

If the court has already found your husband in contempt then yes, there will be a warrant out for him, and if he does come into contact with law enforcement and they run his ID then they will find the Ohio arrest warrant and will take him into custody and transport him to Ohio to do his time.

You asked however if it would be worth hiring an attorney to file things from now on. Without knowing the amount that your ex husband owes you nor whether he has any financial resources to pay that amount, I could not offer a sound opinion on that matter.

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Answered on 12/19/12, 1:35 pm


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